Women's Track & Field

Pioneer Track Teams Close Indoor Season at ECAC/IC4A Championships

Mar 05, 2012

Boston, MA - The Sacred Heart men's and women's track & field teams wrapped up their indoor season over the weekend at the ECAC and IC4A track championships held at Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. The men's team finished 19th in the IC4A team competition with 17 points, while the women compiled 13 points and finished in 23rd place in the ECAC team competition.

The biggest standout performance of the weekend came from junior Bertony Jean-Louis (Norwalk, CT) who broke his own facility record and school record in the semi-finals of the 60-meter hurdles on his way to a first place finish in the finals defending his IC4A title. Jean-Louis ran a 7.76 second time in the semi-finals breaking his own facility record of 7.79. He then went on to win the event for the second-straight year with a time of 7.83 seconds. Jean-Louis claimed 10 points for the team and earns All-East honors.

Jean-Louis came into the competition ranked 33rd in the country at 7.85 seconds. His 7.76 clocking moved him up into a 14th place tie on the NCAA Division I list, and was just off the NCAA Championship automatic qualifying standard of 7.70 seconds. He will learn on Monday night if he has earned a spot in the NCAA Championships when the field is announced.

In the same event Sacred Heart's Jeremy Rosado (Brooklyn, NY) grabbed four points for the Pioneers finishing in fifth place with a time of 8.10 seconds to garner All-East recognition. Senior Jeffrey Lusignan closed out his indoor career by placing sixth in the Mile and earning All-East honors in the event for the second year in a row. He also broke the school record of 4:08.52 that he set in last year's IC4A meet with his 4:08.11 clocking.

Patrick Peterson won his trial race in the 1000 meter run on Saturday with a new school record of 2:24.89. He topped the previous record of 2:25.65 that he set in mid-January. Peterson ran the fastest time in the trials and was well-positioned to win the final on Sunday, but he got injured in a collision at the start of the final, and was barely able to finish the race, struggling across the line in ninth place.

On the women's side, in her last indoor competition ever, Athalia Smith broke her own school record with her second place throw of 18.77 meters (61' 7"). She set the old record in late January at 18.48 meters (60' 7 ¾"). Kolbi Smith joined her on the All-East team in the event, with a throw that was 17.31 meters (56' 9 ½"). Senior Chantaul Smith ended her career with a personal best of 16.78 meters (55' ¾"), as all three SHU throwers made the final of the event (top 9 after the first 3 throws, get 3 more throws).

Lindsay Aponte (West Islip, NY) finished eighth in the shot put event throwing a solid 13.68-meters (44'10 3/4") for All-East recognition. Brittney Lane (Greenwich, NY) finished in 12th place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:27.04.

The quartet of Brittany Llobell, Nicolette Sands, Catherine Westby and Brittany Heninger won the unseeded section of the ECAC distance medley relay in a new school record time of 11:54.16. Not only did they shatter the old record of 12:05.99, which was set in 2010, but their time was good enough to place eighth overall, earning the group All-East honors. Llobell got things started off by clocking a new school record for a 1200 meter relay leg. The senior ran 3:36.7, followed by Sands 58.7 on the 400 meter leg, and Westby's 2:21.1 on the 800 meter leg. Heninger moved the team from second in their heat, up to first, passing the George Mason University anchor with a blazing 1600 meter leg of 4:57.8. The graduate student's time was a new school record for a 1600 meter relay leg, breaking the record she set previously in late January.